Chimpanzees and gorillas live in these forests, including endangered subspecies of each ape. Only about 3,500 individuals in the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee population (a.k.a. Elliot’s chimpanzee) remain, and the Cross River gorilla population is estimated to be fewer than 300 individuals. Additionally, forest elephants and monkeys live within the Herakles Farms concession.

Please use this form letter from Greenpeace to share your concerns and voice your opinions in support of the apes. For more impact, make your letter unique.

As the plight of orangutans in Southeast Asia has proven that palm oil directly negatively affects their population, and sometimes drives orangutans and other forest dwellers to starvation when their homes are slashed and burned to the ground to make room for the plantations.

In your day-to-day life, try to be a conscious consumer and avoid palm oil where you can. You can help be an advocate for apes every day by taking this extra effort to check the ingredient list of products you buy!

From http://www.aavs.org/site/c.bkLTKfOSLhK6E/b.6366831/apps/s/content.asp?ct=13251395#.Uh0lzn9cVEM:

Tell USDA to Stop Public Contact with Captive Wildlife

As you may know, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees Animal Welfare Act regulations concerning captive wildlife. However, it does very little in monitoring public handling of wildlife, like baby tigers, lions, bears, and primates at malls, fairs, and roadside zoos across the country. After they are too old to be used to pet, feed, pose with, and play with, the babies are often discarded at shoddy roadside zoos, sold into the pet trade, or killed for their meat. Allowing such close contact with wild animals is not only unsafe for the public, it also puts the animals’ health at risk, undermines conservation efforts, and drains valuable resources from nonprofit sanctuaries.

We need your help to urge USDA to stop public handling of wildlife!

Eight wildlife organizations, including Born Free USA and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), are asking USDA to prohibit public contact with captive wildlife. GFAS and several sanctuaries that are supported by AAVS’s Tina Nelson Sanctuary Fund, often become responsible for the care of animals who are rescued for this exploitive business. This puts a drain on their valuable resources, making it more difficult to provide refuge to animals relinquished from labs.

Help Captive Wildlife!
You can help protect wildlife by urging the USDA to prohibit public contact with captive wild animals like baby tigers, lions, bears, and primates. A sample letter is below. Comments must be made directly to USDA via the Federal Register website. While it is always more valuable to personalize your message, you may copy and paste the sample letter below into the “Comments” section on that website. Don’t forget to click “Submit!”

I am writing to ask USDA to issue Animal Welfare Act regulations, prohibiting public handling of big cats, bears, and primates, regardless of the animal’s age.

Allowing USDA licensees to use tiger, lion, and bear cubs or primates, for playing, petting, and photo sessions with the public fuels the exotic pet trade, puts the animals’ health at risk, endangers the public, and creates a burden for both law enforcement and nonprofit sanctuaries. Animals exploited this way are often discarded, ending up at unaccredited roadside zoos, the exotic pet trade, and even on dinner plates or in illegal wildlife trade.This practice is unsafe for the public, harmful to the animals, and undermines conservation efforts.

Please take swift action to prohibit public contact and close encounters with big cats, bears, and primates.

From https://secure3.convio.net/neavs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=227

NIRC: Retire Privately Owned Chimpanzees Now

Despite the National Institutes of Health retiring all the federally owned chimpanzees at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in New Iberia, Louisiana, the lab still houses a large number of privately owned chimpanzees who they have not yet scheduled for retirement. NIRC and other labs are fighting to hold on to the millions in funding they have received for decades to simply house and maintain chimpanzees – even though their actual use in research was rapidly dwindling or nonexistent.

Please write to University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie and ask him to retire all privately owned NIRC chimpanzees (UL Lafayette operates NIRC).

**Send your letter from this link: From https://secure3.convio.net/neavs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=227

Recipients

Joseph Savoie, EdD

Message

NIRC: Retire Privately Owned Chimpanzees Now

Dear [Decision Maker],

It’s time to close the chimpanzee program at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is retiring approximately 90% of its federally owned chimpanzees, which includes more than 100 federally owned chimpanzees from NIRC. But according to data from a 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, there will remain more than 200 privately owned chimpanzees at your lab.

* Personalize your message

Dr. Savoie, I am appealing to you to take the lead and commit your institution to modern and compassionate science in all its endeavors. This can and must start by closing the chimpanzee program at NIRC and releasing all your chimpanzees to sanctuary today!Sincerely,[Your Name][Your Address][City, State ZIP]

Thirty-year-old Josh Garrett, an exercise physiology instructor at Santa Monica College, CA, completed the 2,660-mile Pacific Crest Trail last week. The hiking trail goes from Mexico to Canada, following the crest of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, through snow (the highest point is 13,000+ft) and desert and total solitude. Josh didn’t cook, subsisting on energy bars and vegan jerky. He hiked an average of 45 miles a day, overcoming a bout of heatstroke and sleeping only four hours a night, yet setting a new record of 59 days (the previous record was 64 days). He did it to promote awareness of the benefits of a vegan diet and to raise money for Mercy for Animals.

Now this, all you people who use the word “awesome” basically to mean “nice”….THIS is truly an awe-inspiring accomplishment.

Say you do. Go to Sears.com, ‘contact us’ and write them an email about their appalling, thoughtless, cruel t-shirts, seen in a FB post below. It’ll take you 5 minutes. Is there nothing too awful to make money off? I am imagining great t-shirts that say “I love raping.” on the front. Or “I love child porn” Great possibilities there to make a buck.

You love animals, you care about your health and the environment, and there’s just one nagging thing on your mind. Going vegan. If you’re considering it, congratulations!Veganism is on the rise and people are interested in it for many reasons. Here’s a list that might make your vegan transition smoother.

Find your groove.

For some, Meatless Mondays is a good start. Others might have fun making one vegan meal a day. But if you wake up tomorrow and want to be a full-fledged vegan, go for it! You don’t have to do it in phases. Push yourself but don’t set yourself up for failure.

It’s a journey.

You’re going to slip up. Maybe by accident (“whey is an animal product?”) or on purpose (“I couldn’t resist the pizza.”) That’s not a reason to quit. After a lifetime of developing food habits, you’ll find some are hard to break. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Being vegan isn’t about being perfect.

Eat out.

A good vegan restaurant (or restaurant with vegan options) is really helpful. If you’re at a regular restaurant, look for ways to veganize a dish. Hold the cheese. Substitute a Portobello for a hamburger. Ask the wait staff. They’re usually more than happy to help customers with dietary needs.

Learn to cook.

There’s nothing like taking your health into your own hands. Cooking at home means you know exactly what goes into your meal. Find some recipes online or get a few cookbooks and experiment.

Find replacements.

If you crave meat or dairy, look for vegan versions like veggie burgers, soy or almond milk, and dairy-free “cheeses” so you can still eat your favorite foods. Mock meats (or analogs) are a lifesaver when you’re not sure what to eat and you haven’t found a new way of eating yet.

Don’t live on processed foods.

That said, it’s easy to become a junk-food vegan. Mock versions of your old favorites can be healthy, but they aren’t always. The best vegan food plan includes lots of natural, whole foods. When it comes to health talk, you might hear “whole-food, plant-based” instead of “vegan,” because chips and soda are usually vegan, but they’re not often healthy.

Introduce color.

A colorful plate of whole, plant-based foods is bound to be rich in lots of vitamins. Even my salads are hearty, and include lots of things like quinoa, garbanzo beans and seitan.

Speaking of seitan.

Try new foods. You won’t like them all, but you’ll find new favorites and you’ll likely end up eating a more varied diet than the typical meat-and-potatoes American. If you explore a variety of foods from around the world, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the new tastes and number of vegan options.

Expect change.

Meat is calorie dense. It takes a lot more plant-based food to match the calories of animal-based foods. You might find yourself snacking more (healthy snacking is fine). Maybe you pile your plate higher. If you’re eating whole foods, go for it! If you swap a 3-oz. steak for 3 ounces of hummus you’ll probably still be hungry! If you aren’t full, eat more. If you’re eating processed foods though, be careful. Oils and refined foods are fattening and offer very little nutritional value.

Don’t worry about protein.

Yes, it’s absolutely important, but if you eat enough food (meaning you’re not starving yourself), you’ll get enough protein. And a big surprise to many people is that plants have protein! Tomatoes, potatoes, bananas–they wouldn’t grow without it. Beans, nuts and such have more than fruit, but there’s protein in all of it. A plant-based diet provides about 8-10% of calories from protein, which happens to be the amount the RDA (recommended daily allowance) recommends.

Supplements.

Vitamins are a multibillion dollar industry but nothing comes close to whole foods–it’s what we really need. We get vitamin D from the sun, but if you don’t get a lot of sun, that’s one supplement you could take. Dairy is fortified with it, and fortunately, almond, soy, and other milks have it added too. There’s B12 in organic soil (that’s where the cows get it from) but since so much produce is grown with pesticides and other chemicals, soil isn’t what it used to be. A B12 supplement is probably wise. For the record, a lot of omnivores are low in B12 too–it’s not just a vegan thing.

Remember why you’re doing this.

For many, going vegan is all about the animals. Other have health or the environment on their minds. What’s your motivation? Remembering why you’re going vegan will help you stick with it. You can eat whatever you want; you choose not too. It’s not limiting if you think of it as a choice.

Resources:

Forks Over Knives – This documentary drives home the value and sound nutrition behind a whole food, plant-based diet.

The Faroe Islanders have a lot to say about this not being anyone else’s business. How comfortable to be able to commit atrocities and then say it’s no one else’s business. I want that to apply to things I’d like to do, too.

Do you all remember Patrick? The pit bull who was starved until he was almost dead by his owner, Kisha Curtis, and then stuffed in a trash sack and thrown 19 stories down an apartment trash chute in Newark? It was hard to believe from the pictures at the time that he could possibly still be alive. But he was, and he is well and happy today. His story and pictures sparked massive outrage around the WORLD, and led to the demand that stronger laws be put in place to deter and punish animal abusers (Curtis will not be receiving jail time). Tens of thousands of you called or wrote in, demanding some semblance of justice, if not for Patrick, then for other animal victims in the future. Last week, on August 7th, “Patrick’s Law”, unanimously passed the NJ Senate and was signed by Governor Chris Christie.

Under Patrick’s Law, starving or otherwise abusing an animal will be considered to be a fourth degree crime, which is a step up from a disorderly persons offense. If the abuse causes the animal’s death, it would be a third degree offense. Fines would increase from $1,000 to $3,000 for the first offense and range between $3,000 to $5,000 for any further offenses.

You and I know this is still a grim joke of a punishment for a crime so terrible, so prolonged, and so deliberate. Would Curtis fit, I wonder, down the trash chute?

Calendar

January2019

NARN's board of directors meets monthly to discuss our campaigns and administrative issues. Guests are welcome to attend if we have enough time on our agenda.

If you wish to have an agenda item added to the NARN Board Meeting, please email info@narn.org at least a day in advance. You can also send us a message on Facebook anytime or even the day of the meeting and we'll get back to you. All NARN Board Meetings are held in Seattle.

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by our desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join us in providing free, educational information to the public about the dangers of supporting backyard breeding practices and puppy mills, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the time and money it takes to responsibly care for a living creature, and the positive effects of screening pet owners through application processes.

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2093159060741059/

Come join us for a delicious brunch at the fabulous Celest Cafe AND write some letters for animals.

NARN provides the stationery, pens, stamps, sample letters, and ideas for what to write -- just bring yourself. You can even bring your laptop if you'd prefer to type or email your letters!

Why letter writing? Letter writing is a simple way to make change for the animals! At our letter writing events, we write for many different reasons: opposition to the creation of new animal laboratories, support for sending animals to sanctuary, promotion of vegan events and issues through letters to the media, and raising the spirits of activists and comrades who have been jailed for their pro-animal and political actions!

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 6pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/512061562622307/

The University of Washington's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will be meeting to discuss various research protocols (study designs). This is your chance to voice your opinion about the research on animals that goes on at the UW. Please come and speak for the animals!
The meetings are held at the South Campus Center; Room #342 (in between San Juan Road & Columbia Road); behind the Magnuson Health Sciences Center (1925 N.E. Pacific St) )
http://www.washington.edu/maps/

Unfortunately, they frequently re-schedule or cancel their meetings in an attempt to avoid the public, so please call the Public Affairs Office at 206-543-9180 to make sure the meeting is still happening at the given time.
You can also check out their calendar here (copy & paste link into your browser)
http://oaw.washington.edu/iacuc-meeting-schedule/

This month we will be checking out Travelers Thali House. They have tons of vegan options. See their menu here:
http://www.travelersthalihouse.com/Menu102014.html
The Social Discussion Group is a casual event. Drinkers and non-drinkers are welcome, and you don't have to be vegetarian to participate. We hope you'll join us! Questions? Contact rachel[at]narn[dot]org

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/406570843449273/

La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza will be offering a tasty Vegan Tamales Cooking Class in partnership with the Food Empowerment Project! Now is your chance to learn how to make vegan tamales from a master tamalera! The tamales are prepared in the handmade and traditional fashion using cultural ingredients. Sweet sangrias, beer and wine will also be served and is included in the ticket price.

Class will begin promptly at 10:00 AM in the kitchen at El Centro de la Raza. Classes typically take 2.5 to 3 hours long. All cooking supplies and ingredients will be provided, but please bring your own apron.

The money for the La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza Latin Cooking Classes go to fund El Centro de la Raza's Senior programs.

For updates on this event see
https://www.facebook.com/events/2404477662895760/